Ole Miss' Chris Beard Reportedly Rejects Texas A&M HC Job, Agrees to New Contract

Ole Miss is reportedly retaining it's men's college basketball coach this offseason.

Per On3's Pete Nakos, Rebels coach Chris Beard turned down an offer to coach Texas A&M and is staying in Oxford. According to On3's OM Spirit, Beard will also get a raise and additional NIL funds for the program.

According to Nakos, Beard's new contract is a six-year deal.

Texas A&M is looking for its next basketball coach after Buzz Williams took over at Maryland following Kevin Willard's departure for Villanova. Williams was with the Aggies from 2019 to 2025, earning a pair of SEC Coach of the Year awards during his tenure.

Beard was hired as Ole Miss' coach after being fired from Texas in 2023. He had a solid first year a season ago, finishing 20-12 but missing the NCAA tournament. Beard and the Rebels had an even better year this season, going 24-12 and reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. Ole Miss had previously not won an NCAA tournament game since 2015.

Beard has found plenty of success so far in his career. He won two Big 12 Coach of the Year awards while at Texas Tech and led the Red Raiders to the national title game in 2019.

Now finding success at Ole Miss, Beard is gaining plenty of interest. Along with Texas A&M trying to land Beard, he was also linked to Indiana before it hired West Virginia's Darian Devries.

The Rebels managed to secure Beard this offseason, though, and they'll look to continue growing under him.

Ole Miss doesn't have a rich basketball history as it has never made it past the Sweet 16, but that could change under Beard. With the right NIL funding, the Rebels could make a splash in the transfer portal and recruiting and put together a roster capable of a deep run next March.